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Climate Change

Volume 476: debated on Tuesday 3 June 2008

11. To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the potential contribution that extending rail services can make to tackling climate change; and if she will make a statement. (207981)

Rail generally performs well from a carbon perspective. The average carbon emissions from someone travelling by car are roughly double those of someone travelling by train.

Extending train services will result in an increase in rail carbon emissions from the longer or additional trains operated. However, because some of the passengers attracted to the new services would otherwise have driven a car for the trip, this increase will be partly offset by a reduction in carbon emissions from road traffic.